Effect of atmosphere on radiation‐induced crosslinking of polyethylene. Part III. Effect of various gases and effect of electric field

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Abstract
Polyethylene film was irradiated in various atmospheres, i.e., He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, N2, NO, NO2, HO2, CO, CO2, CH4, C2H6, C3H8, and C4H10 by γ‐rays from a Co60 source. Xe, Kr, CO, and H2O (vapor) accelerate the radiation‐induced crosslinking as recently shown in case of N2O. In addition, saturated hydrocarbon gases seem to be accelerative. NO depresses the crosslinking markedly and CO2, mildly. On the other hand, NO2 decomposes the polyethylene molecule without irradiation. Every other gas appears to be inactive. In relation to the effect of gas atmospheres, we examined their solubilities in polyethylene. N2O is one of the most soluble of the inorganic gases. An electric field was applied to polyethylene film during irradiation. The degree of crosslinking evidently decreases with applied field, whether the atmosphere is N2O or Ar.

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